After Seferian defeated incumbent Mayor Marge Brown in 2008, he spent some time looking for a new administrator. He wanted Beazley, who was the administrator of Lucas County, even though Beazley had not submitted a resume. Seferian had offered him $135,000 annual salary at the time, but Beazley declined the offer and agreed to $120,000. He had also rejected a $5,000 vehicle allowance that was included in the contract of the previous administrator.

Such good survivors, they survive unnoticed in places like parks and thrive in every Ohio county despite man's best efforts to exterminate them.

Because coyotes are considered a nuisance, many hunt them with the intention to kill. And state law allows it, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, anywhere it’s legal to hunt by anyone with a license. However, most municipalities and places like the Toledo Area Metroparks do not allow hunting of any kind.

However, hunting coyotes does no good to deter their population, says Ohio certified naturalist Randy Haar. Haar says you can kill every coyote in Lucas County, and within weeks, you will have an equivalent population from adjacent counties filling the gaps.

While R. Bruce Richardson may be both a birder and a comedic singer and musician, for him, the two areas of interest aren’t necessarily so different.

“They would seem to be very different, looking at birds and singing silly songs… but there is something in common, and that is sharing. Almost all the birders I know love to share their knowledge and information. The musical community is a bit like the birding community…a lot of creative, wonderful, crazy people who like to share,” Richardson said.

His performance at The Biggest Week in American Birding is a part of what he’s tongue-in-cheekily dubbed the R. Bruce Richardson Reunion Tour (RBRT).

The festival’s host, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, brought Richardson here to kick off the festival at 7 p.m. on May 8 at the Maumee Bay State Park lodge. Cost for a ticket is $12. The festival, which attracts tens of thousands of birders from across the world to Lake Erie’s shores each year, runs until May 17.

While Richardson performs solo and doesn’t have a band to reunite with, this is his first time touring and performing in five years.

A slight increase in property taxes, state-assisted revenues and the cash rental of village-owned property to an area farmer, helped partially offset a drop last year in income tax receipts for the Village of Walbridge, Mayor Ed Kolanko said last week.

The 1.5 percent municipal income tax generated approximately $782,151 in 2014 – a drop of $68,571 from 2013 and almost $82,000 from 2012.

Total revenues from the income tax and other sources last year were about $1.28 million in 2014, compared to $1.3 million 2013 and $1.2 million in 2012.

Kolanko describes the village’s situation as “financially sound,” noting there is a reserve balance of about $1.44 million. “Economically, I think we’ve seen some consistency and a little bit of a rebound in those numbers.”

While that amount is less than the previous general fund carry-over, the mayor said the village last year completed several projects that he and council view as investments in the town’s infrastructure:

• The first phase of improvements to Union Street, including resurfacing, new curbs and drainage systems was completed. The second phase, between Dixon and Martendale streets, will continue this year. Grants from the Ohio Public Works Commission are covering about half of the $500,000 costs.